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Quamarul Hassan
Summary
Dr. Quamarul Hassan is a Professor within the School of Dentistry/Cell Developmental and Integrative Biology at the University of Alabama, Birmingham.
While I was a master's student at Indian Veterinary Research Institute, I became fascinated with monoclonal antibody gene diversity theory. It was 1987 when Susumu Tonegawa won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of V(D)J recombination. I mostly credited him for inspiring my interest in molecular and cellular biology.
I have a long-standing interest in the genetic, epigenetic, and non-coding RNA mediated mechanisms regulating skeletal development and maintenance, specifically the functional role of miRNAs, lncRNAs, and chromatin regulation and their significance linked to gene regulation. During the last 20 years, I have developed highly effective ex vivo and in vivo strategies, including novel methods and genetic mouse models for studying bone tissue-specific-chromatin organization and modifications, miRNA, and LncRNA function. These models and strategies allow us to unravel the fundamental basis of tissue-specific gene activation and repression. Previously, my research has identified HOX transcription factor switching is critical for bone formation and homeostasis. The novel concept of epigenetic bookmarking of genes allows a cell to retain a “memory bank” for osteoblast lineage. In 2010, my research on the non-coding miRNA 23a-cluster revealed the microRNA-epigenetic regulatory mechanism critical for bone mass maintenance. I believe that my contribution will significantly advance the understanding of the genetic and epigenetic basis of skeletogenesis. Further, these conceptual understandings will likely inform novel therapeutics for bone regeneration, skeletal disorders, consumptive hypothyroidism, and osteosarcoma.
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